We love to watch the hummingbirds feeding on our porch. The cats watch them, too, but pretend to not be interested as they know the hummers are much too fast for them ….except when they fly into a window and are knocked unconscious momentarily. After the telltale thump against the window, we quickly ran outside, saw the tiny bird on the deck and chased the cats away. My husband picked him up gently and held him in his hands. It was a male ruby-throated hummingbird recognizable by the bright red throat coloring.

groggy hummingbird

The cats feigned disinterest but kept watching.

As he protectively held the tiny bird in his hands, the little one rallied a bit

I can’t stand not to tell this sad story. Purple martins built a second nest in the steel beam that supports our carport roof. We unwittingly parked the pickup partially under the carport, and our cat jumped off the hood and took down the nest. Boy did we feel dumb.

Great rescue. A beautiful bird, to hold in the hand, a unique experience. Windows are a serious problem to birds. The following may be useful against window strikes:http://www.sialis.org/windowstrikes.htm

Thank you, Xina. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the decals, sometimes they work and sometimes birds attack them! I’ve found a solution for my window – I installed the absent window screen and keep the window open a bit (preventing reflecting illusions for the hummers). That has prevented any crashes since I made the changes. Fingers crossed….

Precious captures and anecdote, Annette. Having grown up in the Midwest, where hummingbirds are more rare, I was just delighted to see hummingbird after hummingbird in California during a visit there last month. What a treat for you to not only come into close contact with one, but also help ensure its safety.